From the Book - Second edition.
1. How to Engage Constructively in Courses That Take a Critical Social Justice Approach --
An Open Letter to Students --
A Story: The Question of Planets --
Guideline 1 Strive for Intellectual Humility --
Guideline 2 Everyone Has an Opinion. Opinions are Not the Same as Informed Knowledge --
Guideline 3 Let Go of Anecdotal Evidence and Examine Patterns --
Guideline 4 Use Your Reactions as Entry Points for Gaining Deeper Self-Knowledge --
Guideline 5 Recognize How Your Social Position Informs Your Reactions to Your Instructor and the Course Content --
2. Critical Thinking and Critical Theory --
Two Dimensions of Thinking Critically About Knowledge --
A Brief Overview of Critical Theory --
Knowledge Construction --
Example of Knowledge as Socially Constructed --
Thinking Critically About Opinions --
3. Culture and Socialization --
What Is Socialization? --
Cultural Norms and Conformity --
"You" in Relation to the "Groups" to Which You Belong --
4. Prejudice and Discrimination --
What is Discrimination? --
All Humans Have Prejudice and Discriminate --
5. Oppression and Power --
Understanding the "isms" --
Internalized Dominance --
Internalized Oppression --
Hegemony, Ideology, and Power --
6. Understanding Privilege Through Ableism --
External and Structural Dimensions of Privilege --
Internal and Attitudinal Dimensions of Privilege --
Common Dominant Group Misconceptions About Privilege --
7. Understanding the Invisibility of Oppression Through Sexism --
What Is an Institution? --
An Example: Sexism Today --
What Makes Sexism Difficult to See? --
Discourses of Sexism in Advertising --
Discourses of Sexism in Movies --
Discourses of Sexism in Music Videos --
8. Understanding the Structural Nature of Oppression Through Racism --
A Brief History of the Social Construction of Race in the United States --
A Brief History of the Social Construction of Race in Canada --
Two Key Challenges to Understanding Racism --
Dynamics of White Racial Superiority --
Dynamics of Internalized Racial Oppression --
Racism and Intersectionality --
9. Understanding the Global Organization of Racism Through White Supremacy --
White Supremacy in the Global Context --
Common White Misconceptions about Racism --
10. Understanding Intersectionality Through Classism --
Mr. Rich White and Mr. Poor White Strike a Bargain --
Common Class Venacular --
Common Misconceptions About Class --
Understanding Intersectionality --
Examples of Everyday Class Privilege --
Common Classist Beliefs --
11. "Yeah, But ...": Common Rebuttals --
Claiming That Schools Are Politically Neutral --
Dismissing Social Justice Scholarship as Merely the Radical and Personal Opinions of Individual Left Wing Professors --
Citing Exceptions to the Rule --
Arguing That Oppression Is Just Human Nature --
Appealing to a Universalized Humanity --
Insisting on Immunity from Socialization --
Ignoring Intersectionality --
Refusing to Recognize Structural and Institutional Power --
Rejecting the Politics of Language --
Invalidating Claims of Oppression as Oversensitivity --
Reasoning That If Choice Is Involved It Can't Be Oppression --
Positioning Social Justice Education as Something "Extra" --
Being Paralyzed by Guilt --
12. Putting It All Together --
Recognize How Relations of Unequal Social Power Are Constantly Being Negotiated --
Understand Our Own Positions Within Relations of Unequal Power --
Think Critically About Knowledge --
Act in Service of a More Just Society.